What is "wasat"

Wasat is an Arabic word meaning "center" or "middle ground". It is used in several fields.

• Delta Geminorum, a star also known by the traditional name Wasat

• Wasat, Burma

• Alwasat (Bahraini newspaper), a daily in Bahrain
• Alwasat (Kuwaiti newspaper), a daily in Kuwait

• Al-Wasat Party, an Islamist political party in Egypt
• Muslim Centre Party, known in Arabic as Hizb al-Wasat al-Islami, a political party in Jordan
• Center Party (Iraq), known in Arabic as Tayyar al-Wasat, a political movement in Iraq

• Wasat (Islamic term), the concept of moderation in Islam

Wasat, also called wasatiyyah (وسطية) is the Arabic word for middle, centered, balanced. In the Islamic context, it refers to the "middle way", a justly balanced way of life, avoiding extremes and experiencing things in moderation.

A newspaper in Bahrain is named Al-Wasat ('the middle') for its editorial viewpoint of "Promoting the rational middle-ground in debate and tendencies."

Malaysia has an NGO, Wasatiyyah Institute Malaysia, whose purpose is to promote moderate Islam.